Three contractors are bidding to fix a broken fence at Parliament Hill.
One is from Montreal, another is from Toronto, and the third is from Vancouver.
All three go with a Parliament official to examine the fence.
* The Vancouver contractor takes out a tape measure and does some measuring, then works some figures with a pencil.
"Well," he says, "I figure the job will run about $9,000. That's $4,000 for materials, $4,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me."
* The Toronto contractor also does some measuring and figuring, then says, "I can do this job for $7,000. That's $3,000 for materials, $3,000 for my crew and $1,000 profit for me."
* The Montreal contractor doesn't measure or figure, but leans over to the Parliament official and whispers, "$27,000."
The official, incredulous, says:
"You didn't even measure like the other guys. How did you come up with such a high figure? ”
The Montreal contractor whispers back:
"$10,000 for me, $10,000 for you, and we hire the guy from Toronto to fix the fence."
* "Done!" replies the government official.
And that, my friends, is how the Government Stimulus plan worked.
Remember... Three boxes keep us free:
- The soap box,
- The ballot box and
- The jury box,
"I love my country. it's the government I'm afraid of!"
Keep smiling
Tug
